19 February 2015
Since its inception, the Velocity Growth Grant has been giving businesses a boost with grants of up to £10,000. One person who received a grant and is feeling the benefits is Sylvia Baldock, a business trainer who unlocks the hidden potential in individuals and teams. Velocity grant funding of £5,000 enabled Sylvia to create a brand new website, launch a PR campaign to promote her business, and create a new CRM system to automate her business and free up more time to focus on business growth.
Sylvia said: “I used to be reluctant to direct people to my old website which just wasn’t strong or professional enough. Velocity funding paid for a fantastic new professional looking website which I have had so many positive comments about. An excellent website gives a business an air of authenticity, forming part of an overall impression that says that this is someone that you want to do business with.”
Of course, a new website is only effective if enough people see it. Enter another benefit of the grant funding. “Thanks to the funding I was able to launch a whole PR campaign that gave me a lot press coverage and considerably raised my profile,” says Sylvia. “I was able to use a PR consultant who got me a lot of articles in business publications and got me a few radio interviews too. This enabled me to direct far more people to my website, which I’m now more than happy to do, and online sales have increased.”
Sylvia used to run every aspect of her business on her own, a time consuming exercise that left her unable to pursue real growth. Once more, the Velocity Growth Grant came to Sylvia’s rescue. “Because of the large volume of my work – I run eight separate networking groups as well as the training aspect of my business – the amount of email marketing I have to do is immense.
“Thanks to the Velocity funding, I now have a CRM system that automates many aspects of my business. Most importantly I have been able to pay for a part time assistant to run this CRM system. This frees up so much time for me to really go for growth for my business.”
Velocity Business Support and its qualified and experienced Business Advisers are available to help businesses in a number of ways, through one-to-one support, grants and free business workshops.
Our Advisers are widely connected to national and regional government organisations as well as the private sector, and are able to signpost businesses to sources of grant funding or make personal introductions to individuals or organisations that add value to businesses.
To find out more about how Velocity could help you, call 0300 01234 35 or follow us on Twitter @VelocityGrowth.
